Sports Morning Headlines - Monday, 3/19/12

What Is Going On With The Rockets' Derek Fisher? (WITH UPDATE) - When the Rockets made the move to trade Jordan Hill for Derek Fisher and a first round pick, the Rockets' intentions seemed fairly clear—Fisher could fill in as a backup point guard until Kyle Lowry returned and then could be bought out of his contract, with the Rockets gaining a first round pick in the process. Now, almost three days after the news of the deal came down, Derek Fisher has yet to report to the Rockets. Neither Fisher nor the Rockets have commented on his status. Read on for an update after the jump! READ MORE

Is offensive surge a trend or passing fad? - The offensive fireworks started Saturday night on the first possession with a soaring Rodrigue Beaubois grabbing an alley-oop lob from Jason Kidd with two hands high above the rim and slamming it down to the roar of the sellout crowd. It included 27 points and a couple of big-bang, second-half 3-pointers from Dirk Nowitzki that provoked the big guy to stick out his tongue and bark as he headed back down the floor. Highlights included Kidd canning four of his own 3-pointers in his most efficient offensive performance of the season and his first double-double as well. The high-intensity show ended with Jason Terry nailing two 3-pointers in the final 2:46 with the grand finale splashing down with 41.9 seconds to go in the 106-99 victory. READ MORE

Project Spurs: Cuban doesn't care about Spurs getting Jackson - Though the San Antonio Spurs lost last night to the Dallas Mavericks 106-99 in Dallas, it also was the debut of newly acquired Stephen Jackson. Jackson, a favorite among Spurs fans, finished with five points, one assist, in 17 minutes in his Spurs debut and should prove to be an upgrade over Richard Jefferson (who was sent to the Golden State Warriors) once he gets back into the rhythm of the Spurs' system. But don't tell that to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban who just added more fuel to the Spurs-Mavs rivalry. READ MORE

Tough day for Ross in first spring start - Rookie left-hander Robbie Ross, who has emerged as a candidate for the bullpen, made his first start of the spring on Sunday against the Brewers in Phoenix and was roughed up. He lasted just 2 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits. He also walked one and struck out one before Michael Kirkman took over. "First I was up in the zone a little bit, and I had to get more comfortable and work down," Ross said. "Overall, it felt good coming out of my hand. Sometimes it's up and sometimes it's down. I felt good today. "I was just trying to attack the batters. I don't know any of these guys well enough to try to pitch around them in different ways. I thought, 'Why not go out and throw strikes and see what happens with the infield and outfield we've got?' It's a lot easier to pitch when you have guys behind you that can make plays." READ MORE

Biggio takes Astros prospects under his wing - Former big leaguer works with DeShields, among other talent. It was 20 years ago, on the back fields at Osceola County Stadium, when Craig Biggio made the transition from an All-Star catcher to an All-Star second baseman, setting the stage for a long and productive career that saw him rewrite the Astros' record books. Biggio, four years removed from a Hall of Fame career and with 3,060 hits on his resume, made an appearance at camp this week, with one of his top duties coming on the same dusty back fields he roamed two decades ago. Biggio spent some time in recent days with former first-round pick Delino DeShields Jr., who's continuing to make the transition to second base full-time. "The more reps you get, the better you're going to get at it," said Biggio, who was drafted as a catcher by the Astros in 1987 and moved to second base to lengthen his career. READ MORE

Summing up the first week of Texans free agency - To hear some fans tell the story, the first seven days of Texans free agency was something like the seige at the Alamo. Invading troops poured over the walls from every direction as the Battle Red Brigade desperately tried to preserve what they could, knowing full well they were almost out of ammo and there were no reinforcements coming to help. But was it really that bad? Are the Texans so weakened by their free agency defections that their brief hold on the AFC South division is in jeopardy? Let's examine. READ MORE

Report: Cowboys could go 'nuclear' on NFL over cap penalties - The Cowboys might not take the NFL's cap penalty sitting down after all. An unnamed source told NBCSports.com's Mike Florio that the Cowboys and Redskins could be preparing to go "nuclear" on the NFL after the league instituted cap penalties on both teams just before the start of free agency. The penalties were in response to the way each club structured contracts during the 2010 uncapped season. "The two teams are contemplating suing anyone and everyone connected to the sudden removal of $46 million in total cap space over the next two years, based on the contention that their treatment of the term 'uncapped year' too literally somehow created a competitive disadvantage," Florio wrote. READ MORE

Just like the rest of us, Stars juggle work and family - Often, hockey fans see their heroes as something more than human, but the players they watch on the ice every night are people too, and nothing helps illustrate that more than the realization that they have the same struggle most of us have in balancing family life with their jobs. After two different Dallas Stars players briefly left the team over the past month in order to attend to the birth of a baby, it underscores just how much the personal aspect of players’ lives impact them, even if you can’t see a difference in their performance on the ice. READ MORE